Mixed Feelings
by queensparrilla
Summary: A newly hired assistant at a well known media company has dreams of becoming a journalist. However, her boss who is a successful millionaire, starts to make her life miserable. One day, they have a talk that changes things drastically as they become closer, but will an office romance play out? Or will things turn south when one of them becomes scared.
1. Chapter 1

Regina sunk back in her seat, swirling the glass of scotch that she had in her hand with her finger. She hadn't even had the chance to sit at her desk that morning before multiple agencies began ringing to cancel and rearrange meetings that Regina wasn't overly looking forward to in the first place, even though she had spent the night before panicking about them and got no sleep. She always felt like she never got a break, between being the CEO of a media company and being a single parent, she gloried the moments she got when she could sit down and have a drink alone, even if it was in her office.

She sighed and looked at the clock that hung above a painting on the wall opposite to her.

9:46pm

She groaned and finished off her scotch, placing it back down beside her before reaching for more and slowly refilling her glass, more than she should've. She opened up her laptop and approached her emails, skimming her eyes over the 40 new emails she had received in the last hour. She slowly rubbed her temples with her fingers, closing her eyes and keeping her head down. For a minute, everything was quiet, and she began to dose off before several short knocks came from across the room.

Regina's head shot up, and she adjusted her glasses that were slowly sliding off her face. She looked over to the door, where she found her assistant waiting patiently.

"Sorry to bother you, Ms Mills, but I wanted to let you know that I was heading home."

"Did you finish the paper work that was filed?" Regina spoke up, sitting herself up in her seat and staring across the room at her assistant.

She nodded, before making her way in with her arms full with paperwork that Regina had previously gave her.

"Thank you, Emma. At least you're not a complete idiot." Regina replied sharply, watching as the girl placed them down next to her.

Regina had mixed feelings about her new assistant, sure she was good at her job; she always got Regina the right coffee in the morning and she always handed her work in on time. But she was a bit cocky, which Regina didn't like. She especially hated it when Emma tried to answer back, which only made Regina seem more intimidating. She hated when people disrespected her, but she saw a lot of hope within Emma that meant she couldn't fire her. So instead, she decided to be more cocky herself. She assigned her with extra tasks, and made her life more miserable than it needed to be. But that was how Regina was, she was powerful and intimidating, which alternatively made her an amazing CEO.

Emma clenched her jaw and put on a smile, she turned her back and began walking away.

"Emma!" Regina called out, never taking her eyes off the blonde.

Emma stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Yes?"

"Please don't wear that horrendous outfit again, dear. It makes you look pale, and dirty." Regina deadpanned, looking Emma up and down. She was wearing a tank top with some old black jeans, as well as her usual red leather jacket thrown on top.

"Pale and dirty?" Emma repeated, taking a few steps closer. She knew full well she couldn't argue with her boss, but anger began to boil inside of her that she knew she couldn't control any longer if Regina continued to antagonise her.

Regina raised an eyebrow at her and simply sat back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. She still hadn't taken her eyes off the girl, but knew Emma would push back more.

"Yes. You need to buy a new wardrobe. You work for me, not some hobo on the street."

Emma wasn't exactly poor, but she wasn't rich either. Her salary was good enough that she could live off it, however she still preferred to share an apartment, to make paying rent easier.

"Maybe if the pay wasn't so shit-" Emma began to mumble before noticing that Regina had stood up, her Louboutins making her taller than she actually was, which only made her more intimidating.

She was wearing a pinstripe suit, one that fitted her perfectly. Her hair was dark, and lay just above her shoulders. Her lips were stained with dark red lipstick, a little smudged from where she was sipping at her scotch but it didn't seem to bother her. Emma hadn't really paid much attention to how her boss looked, but seeing her now made her realise why everyone was so intimidated by her. Seeing her boss now, the way she stood there with confidence only stirred up what Emma was feeling inside. She was no longer angry, however she tried her hardest to seem it.

"What were you saying, Miss Swan?" Regina replied with a tone that only sent shivers down Emma's spine. She could sense the blonde getting stiffer, a small smirk seemed to creep up on her face as she continued to stare at Emma.

"Nothing."

Regina moved elegantly from behind her desk, moving towards Emma and stopped a few inches away. She could smell perfume that lingered from the blonde in front of her, one that she knew all to0 well. She also knew that her own perfume would linger, but she didn't mind. She watched as Emma shifted a little bit, noticing that she was becoming nervous and smiled.

Emma thought she was going to be hollered at as Regina towered over her, her perfume was sickening. But she somehow liked it, the smell of vanilla and cherry, but also scotch seemed to tickle at Emma's nose.

"You can leave now." Regina said, her tone not shifting.

Emma simply nodded and rushed off, without saying another word.

Regina returned to her desk, sighing as she finished up her scotch. She leaned back against her chair and smiled slightly, somehow she enjoyed the time she got with Emma, even if the majority of the time they shouted at each other. She knew she hired the girl for a reason, Emma needed experience working in a magazine firm to build up her knowledge on reporting and writing, and Regina was all for having her work for her, until she took one look at the blonde and felt something else. Regina had never believed in love at first sight, she always denied herself any relationships that she seemed to build. She always thought that it was because of her ex husband, the father of her child who admittedly, broke her heart. But the more she thought about it, and the more men she went on dates with, she realised that she didn't want or need a man. She wanted someone else.

* * *

When Emma got home, she threw her keys into the small ornament bowl that stood on the table next to her door. She sighed and kicked her shoes off, sliding her jacket off as she did and hanging it up on the back of the door. She dragged herself into her kitchen, checking the clock as she walked past.

10:30pm

It wasn't that late, at least for Emma it wasn't. She usually spent most nights completing work that Regina set her, or binging series on Netflix. She grabbed a beer from her fridge and opened it, taking a quick swig before moving into her living room. It was small, but cosy, and by the quietness she could tell that her roommate was asleep, or out. She fell back onto her couch, placing her beer on the table in front of her and grabbing her laptop that was on the couch next to her. She quickly scanned her eyes over her emails, checking for anything that Regina may of sent her to do, or any replies from writing companies that she had sent examples of her work to. She's always wanted to be a writer, or at least a journalist so she'd send some of her ideas into other companies to get their approval, as she knew that Regina would only discard them. But so far, she wasn't having much luck.

She sighed and closed her laptop, closing her eyes to the distant sirens from the city below her.

 _What were you saying, Miss Swan?_

Emma replayed the previous conversation she had with her boss in her head. She could smell the scotch on her breathe as she spoke to her, she could see the way her undone top buttons on her shirt revealed more than it should've. Her louboutins made the brunette taller than her, yet somehow she knew she was shorter than her without the heels, but it never made her less intimidating. The slightly smudged lipstick that Emma so desperately wanted to lean up to clear stained in her brain, but she knew it would be crossing boundaries. Everything about her boss was interesting to Emma, but everything about her also turned the blonde on, more than she cared to admit.

"Emma!" A voice called from behind her, distracting her from her thoughts. She shot open her eyes and turned around, seeing her roommate standing in the doorway.

"Hi. Another date?" Emma asked, her roommate standing in nothing more than a short body-con dress that barely covered her ass and 6 inch heels. Her roommate got around a lot, but knew never to bring any of her dates home, especially when Emma was home.

"Yeah, but he was a slob and it wasn't worth going home with him." Her roommate shrugged and flicked her heels off, placing them next to Emma's shoes.

"Makes a change." Emma smiled as she watched her overly attractive roommate join her on the couch. Her long curly red hair cascaded over her shoulders, her pale skin illuminated with the scent of cinnamon, and a slight tinge of bourbon. Emma had guessed it was the drink she'd been having on her date, however she often smelt like bourbon. Her eyes were the type of blue that people got lost in, even Emma sometimes stared too long into her eyes. Her roommate also had a british accent, that made her ten times hotter, especially in Emma's eyes.

"How was your day at work?" She asked, taking a sip of Emma's beer.

"It was fine." Emma shrugged, she didn't overly talk a lot about her job to her roommate, mainly because she never felt the need to, and because she knew she only got asked to start a conversation.

"Your boss still giving you a hard time huh? I'm sure she'll warm up to you soon." Her roommate smiled and got up off the couch, showing Emma more of her body than she wanted to see.

"Lena! I can see your ass. Put it away!" Emma frowned as her roommate's dress had risen up. She laughed and adjusted it before setting off in the direction of her own bedroom.

Emma had never mentioned who her boss was or who she even worked for, but she still gossiped about the crap Regina gave her.

Emma sighed and finished off her beer, getting up off the couch and placing the bottle in the bin. Then she headed straight into her room, grabbing her usual oversized shirt that had several stains and holes in and getting changed. She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, humming to herself as she clambered into bed.

She lay there for a while, staring up at the ceiling. She hoped the next day would be better, and she hoped that her boss would be in a better mood.

She was about to doze off before she heard her phone vibrate from the bedside table. She groaned and reached her arm out, grabbing her phone and switching it on. A text from an unknown number. She furrowed her brow at the text.

 _Is this Emma Swan?_

She quickly texted back.

 _Yes, this is Emma. Who are you?_

Almost instantly she got a reply. And as soon as she saw who it was, her face dropped and her heart began beating faster.

 _It's Regina. Can you talk?_

* * *

 **Sooo this the first chapter to Mixed Feelings, and I know that it's short but I will work on making the rest of the story longer. This is a slowburn fic, or at least it'll be as much of a slowburn as I can make it. But anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please leave any comments or suggestions. It would be greatly appreciated 3**


	2. Chapter 2

Before she had time to reply, her phone began ringing. It took a while for Emma to even acknowledge that it was ringing, she was still shocked that her boss was texting her, and puzzled over how she even got her number in the first place. When she finally snapped out of it, she quickly pressed the green button and placed the phone to her ear.

 _"Hello?"_

 _"Emma?"_

Emma fumbled around, sitting herself up in bed before answering.

 _"Regina? How did you get my number?"_

 _"Long story. Considering you answered, I'm assuming you're able to talk?"_

Emma could hear the faint sound of the brunette breathing down the phone, her voice a little cracked.

 _"Uh yes, what's up?"_

Emma was beyond confused, and a little unnerved. Regina never seemed to show any interest in the girl, at all. Emma always thought she was being resented by the woman, she'd never thought that Regina would be calling her late at night.

 _"There's an editor's meeting tomorrow, that Miss Lucas was supposed to be attending with me. I don't usually get involved with the editors unless there's a major issue. I was allowing Ruby to take notes, learn from it... but she hasn't been in all week. She's probably off doing god knows what with whomever she saw suit best. Anyway, Miss Swan, I was wondering if you'd attend the meeting with me. I know you're trying to get experience, in journalism or whatever you want t-"_

 _"Yes! Of course I'll attend with you!"_

Emma interrupted, trying her best to contain her excitement over the phone, although failing.

 _"Miss Swan, need I remind you that it's the one meeting. Don't think for a second that I'll be letting you in on anymore. And don't interrupt me again."_

Her tone was harsh, but Emma didn't mind. She was just happy that she was given a chance to scout an editor's meeting, albeit she was disappointed that the call was only about work and surprisingly hoped that it was for something else.

 _"Yes, Miss Mills. Thank you."_

Emma knew she couldn't make a move, it was wrong, and she hadn't even sussed out what she was feeling. But she wanted to find out.

 _"Emma. Don't be late."_

 _"I won't, I promise."_

There was a long pause between the pair, and for a moment, Emma could've sworn she heard a faint laugh from the other end of the line.

 _"And Emma..."_

 _"Yeah?"_

Emma's heart began racing, more than it did before. She'd noticed that Regina's tone had gotten softer.

 _"Don't wear jeans."_

Emma rolled her eyes and bit back her tongue.

 _"Miss Mills, I don't exactly own fancy clothing."_

 _"Swan, you find something appropriate to wear. If you come in wearing jeans, you will not be attending the meeting. Do you understand?"_

Her tone had moved back to her usual harshness, but it didn't phase Emma anymore. She was strangely used to it.

 _"Yes, I understand."_

 _"Right then, I'll see you tomorrow."_

And with that, the phone beeped, and Regina was gone. The blonde sighed and shut her phone off. Business. Everything with Regina was always business.

Emma placed her phone back, lying herself back down and moving closer under the covers. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling once more.

And then she dozed off.

* * *

The next morning, Emma woke up earlier than usual. She stumbled out of bed, heading straight for her wardrobe to find something suitable to wear for the meeting. She wanted to make an impression, for whoever the meeting was for. She was kind of thankful that she had the chance, she could impress the editors and hopefully get them to read some of her work. However, she couldn't find anything that was acceptable enough, half of her wardrobe was made up of jeans, shirts and jackets.

"Zelena!" She shouted, slowly making her way out her room.

To her surprise, her roommate was already dressed for her day and was standing in the kitchen making breakfast. She turned around and smiled at the blonde.

"You're up early." Lena smirked, holding two cups of coffee.

"Do you have any... appropriate clothes that I can borrow, for work?" Emma asked, making her way into the kitchen and taking a cup of coffee from the red heads hand.

"Appropriate? Who are you trying to impress?" Zelena asked with a grin, shunting Emma gently with her shoulder.

"Hey! I'm not trying to impress anybody. There's this meeting that my boss is allowing me to observe." Emma let out a low growl, taking a sip from her coffee.

"You still haven't told me who this mystery boss is." Zelena raised an eyebrow and set her cup down, turning to look Emma up and down. Decidedly taking in the smaller girls size. Emma didn't take notice, but she continued drinking her coffee.

"She's just some intimidating woman who shouts at me. No one important." Emma shrugged.

Zelena just smiled as she began to walk back into her bedroom, and Emma followed, with her coffee still in her hands. She leant against the doorway and watched as Zelena began searching through her wardrobe.

"What about this?" She asked, turning around to face Emma with a slim black dress in her hands.

Emma wasn't a dressing up type person, so she wasn't overly fussed with what she wore. However she wanted to impress the editors, and Regina.

"Sure. Let me try it on." Emma shrugged and took the dress from her hands, giving her cup of coffee to Zelena to hold. She slipped her shirt off, not caring that Lena was there. They were pretty close friends, and had a past that not many people knew about. They were comfortable with each other, and knew everything about each other. Except Emma never spoke of her job, and she never knew why.

She then quickly put the dress on, turning around and pointing to her back.

"Zip me up please."

Zelena got up and zipped the back of the dress up, looking Emma up and down as she twirled.

"Hot." The red head smirked, "Your boobs look great!"

Emma giggled and walked over to Zelena's mirror, looking herself up and down, smoothing her hands over her dress.

"This'll do." Emma nodded, turning back to Zelena.

"You got any heels?" She asked and put on a smile. She loved the dress more than she cared to admit.

Zelena moved faster than ever, and grabbed a pair of strapped black heels to match the dress, she placed them on the floor in front of Emma and watched as she slipped her feet into them, making her increasingly taller.

"Thank you, Lena." She smiled and looked down at herself. She couldn't help when a small smirk appeared on her face. The dress lay just above her knees, and showed just enough cleavage that Emma was comfortable with.

"Em, you look hot. You'll have all the ladies drooling at your feet." She winked and handed the blonde her coffee back. Emma smiled and walked out, moving back into her room.

She sat at her vanity and attempted to slightly curl her hair at the ends, she then put on some makeup covering up the bags under her eyes. She was always tired, no matter how much sleep she got. And it was always shown on her face. She smiled at herself and looked into the mirror in front of her, taking in her face. She hoped that this was good enough for Regina, she didn't want to be shouted at in front of the editors for the clothes she was wearing.

She then rejoined Zelena in the kitchen, checking the clock on her way.

7:56am

She had half an hour to get to work, which to her surprise was plenty of time. She sighed and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, heading to the door and placing the bottle into her handbag. She grabbed her car keys. She then looked up at the jackets on the back of the door, she hesitated staring at her favourite red leather jacket. It was her comfort, but she knew she couldn't wear it, especially with the dress she was wearing. She sighed and grabbed the jacket next to it, a long black suede jacket.

"Good luck!" Zelena called as Emma left, the blonde waved to her with a smile before shutting the door.

* * *

Emma arrived 10 minutes early, parking her car in her usual spot and clambering out of the car with her handbag. She fumbled with her keys in her hands, attempting to lock the car. She cursed to herself when she dropped them. She held a coffee in her hands, Regina's usual order.

"Having trouble?" A voice called from behind her, a voice that she knew all too well, and that still sent shivers down her spine. She could smell the vanilla, it wafted towards her as she sensed Regina move closer. The brunette bent down and picked up the keys, smiling as she looked at Emma, holding the keys out.

"T-thank you, Miss Mills." Emma took the keys from her, feeling Regina's cold skin underneath. It instantly made her stomach curl, the contact was unnerving. She quickly locked up her car and placed her keys into her bag.

"For you." Emma smiled and held out the cup.

"You look nice. For a change." Regina spoke with a grin, raising an eyebrow at the blonde, taking the coffee and taking a step back to observe the dress.

"It's my roommates." Emma chuckled nervously.

Regina just smiled, taking a step closer to the blonde.

"It suits you." She said in a tone that made the muscles in Emma's legs clench. Emma looked down, hiding the red that creeped up on her cheeks, shuffling her feet against the concrete.

Regina laughed slightly, tucking some hair behind her ear. She turned to look at the entrance to her building.

Emma looked back up, her eyes grazing over Regina's outfit. She was wearing another suit, it fitted her perfectly, showing off enough curves that Emma couldn't help but stare. She was wearing her usual Louboutins, and her hair was straightened, making it look slightly longer than usual. Her lips were stained with a bright lipstick, making them look plump.

Regina could feel Emma's eyes on her and smiled, before walking off in the direction of her building, not stopping to see if Emma was following.

Emma quickly followed suit, shuffling behind the brunette. They made it to the elevator, both of them standing in silence next to each other, watching as the numbers above the door increased. The elevator dinged and Regina walked out, Emma quickly following behind. Emma sat down at her desk and watched as Regina walked into her office, sitting at her own desk and opening up her laptop. Emma couldn't help but stare, watching every movement the brunette made.

Emma was sat at her desk for about an hour, but hadn't realised she'd been staring for at nothing until Regina appeared in front of her, her arms folded across her chest.

"Miss Swan." She repeated.

Emma shot up from her chair, straightening out her dress.

"Miss Mills, sorry I was ju-"

"The meeting is in 10 minutes." Regina had ignored her, looking at her with no expression. She seemed tensed. Whatever this meeting was about, obviously made Regina nervous. But she was good at hiding it.

Emma nodded and grabbed her notebook, she fumbled around her desk looking for a pen until she felt cold hands by her ear. She looked up and saw Regina, her hand was by her ear and there was a small smile on the brunettes face.

"Here." Regina said, her tone softening a bit. When she moved her hand back, there was a pen in her hand. Emma blushed, she had completely forgotten that she put the pen behind her ear.

"Thank you." Emma smiled and took the pen from her hand, slightly grazing Regina's skin.

Regina smiled and turned, walking off in the direction of the meeting room. Emma watched as her hips swayed, before following the brunette herself, chewing nervously at her bottom lip.

The meeting went well, better than Emma had expected. The editors agreed to look at some of her work, and she couldn't help but notice Regina had been staring at her the whole time she presented her ideas. But she knew she'd been staring herself when Regina was close to shouting at them, telling them to fix whatever they got wrong. Honestly, Emma zoned out for the majority of the meeting, but was still able to take good enough notes to ensure Regina didn't shout at her.

"Emma." Regina said, a nerve set on her face that Emma noticed.

"Yeah?" She replied, staying sat down at the meeting table.

Regina waited until everyone else had left, then she sat herself down opposite the blonde.

"I didn't know you were working on your own stuff." She said softly, tilting her head a little as she looked at Emma.

"Oh, yeah I was going to send you some but I didn't think you'd like it." She replied, twiddling her fingers in front of her.

"And how do you know what I like." Regina replied, a little sternly but still with a softness in her voice.

"I-I just thought that you wouldn't have time to read my ideas. You're always so busy." Emma shrugged and looked at Regina, noticing a spark in her hazel eyes.

"I want you to send them to me, from now on." Regina sat back in her chair, her eyes still focused on the blonde in front of her.

"Oh, really?! Okay." Emma couldn't help but smile, she sat herself up straighter in the chair and watched as Regina leaned forward.

"Your ideas are good, Emma." She smiled, her tone settling softer.

"Thank you, Miss Mills."

"Now. It's lunchtime, I want you to come to lunch with me. To discuss your options further, for your future of course." Regina asked, hope staining her voice. She was good at hiding her emotions, but Emma could somehow see through her.

"Oh? Miss Mills, I have a lot of work to do an-"

"Remind me again of who your boss is, Emma." She raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"You."

"So if I ask you to come to lunch with me, I'm sure your boss wouldn't mind if you missed out on work time." She began to stand up, tucking her chair behind the table and staring down at Emma with a small smile.

Emma nodded with a smile and followed, standing up and pushing her chair underneath. Her stomach turned, and her muscles clenched. Maybe she was thinking too much into this, her boss was asking her to lunch for business talk. Nothing else. At least that's what she thought.

* * *

 **And that's Chapter 2 done. Let me know what you think by leaving reviews. What past has Zelena and Emma got that no one knows about? And what are Regina's intentions when she asks Emma to lunch? Next chapter up soon :)**


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